Ned Ashton felt a bit overdressed for the occasion when he entered L&D wearing a tuxedo. He had agreed to meet Miguel at 6:30 for as much of a sound check as one could conduct in the Auditorium outside the Stone Cates Memorial HIV/AIDS Wing on the Seventh and Eighth Floor of the North Wing, but first he needed to check on Carly. He wasn't completely convinced that he was making the right choice by going ahead with his commitment to play at the wing dedication despite Carly's admission. It was what Carly had insisted she wanted him to do but it still felt a bit too much like abandonment.
"You look nice," Carly said when he stepped into the room.
"Thank you! It still isn't too late to change your mind. Miguel is perfectly capable of handling this by himself. The crowd might even prefer that," Ned said.
"I doubt that! Anyway, Beth will be here soon, and I'll be fine," Carly said.
Ned considered that. She did have a point. He also wanted to do anything he could to facilitate connections into his family. Perhaps that seemed manipulative, perhaps it even was, but his motives were well intentioned. He really just wanted Carly to feel comfortable and in time their child to be comfortable. "Why don't I just wait with you until Beth gets here? I don't have to meet Miguel until six-thirty," he suggested.
"I think I can handle that. So, how goes life in the world of vulture capital?" Carly asked.
Ned smiled. He wasn't sure if she had misspoken or if it was her perspective on some of his grandfather's business practices. "Grandfather would tell you we're ELQ and we're so much better than that. J&J Enterprises on the other hand…" Ned said.
"Is that Brenda's boyfriend's company?" Carly asked.
"J&J Enterprises is a joint venture of John, Jerry, and Jasper Jacks. I, however, am optimistic that Brenda might come to her senses soon," Ned said.
"Well, she did kind of ignore him at that Deceptions Reception. Of course, that might be because he was enmeshed with Katherine Bell most of the evening," Carly said.
His wife's observations intrigued him a bit. He remembered having to pry Katherine away from Jax, but he hadn't thought too much of it. Perhaps he should have!
XXXXXXXX
Beth Quartermaine stepped into the downstairs family room to find her husband crawling around the floor on all fours with their daughter on his back. She paused a moment to smile and laugh.
Dr. Mark Henry Quartermaine turned to face his wife. "Oh, hi, honey," he said.
Somehow that only made the situation more comical. "Since you seem to have everything under control here, I'm going to go visit Carly. I think Ned said that the Gala ended at eleven but he was probably going to be able to escape a little early, so I'll probably be home a little after ten I think," Beth said.
"We'll be here," Mark said.
"I'm kind of counting on that! Kensi, come let Mommy give you a huggie before I go," Beth said.
"Huggie!" Kensington cried as she climbed off her father's back and ran to her mother.
As Beth embraced her daughter, she offered a moment of silent prayer that Ned and Carly would have that same chance with their little boy.
XXXXXXXX
Sarah Webber was unsure exactly how to interpret her boyfriend's actions. He had shown up with a copy of Seventeen Magazine and a teddy bear from the gift shop. Yet, he had seemed distracted and he hadn't stayed very long. He had said he needed to return to Wyndamere to prepare himself for the Stone Cates Memorial Gala that his Uncle Stefan expected him to attend. It was only then that it had occurred to Sarah that she hadn't been invited to attend with him. Obviously, her hospitalization made that impossible but the date of the Gala had been set even before she arrived in Port Charles so he should have invited her months ago. Except, he hadn't.
It wasn't that Sarah had wanted to attend the Stone Cates Memorial Gala, because she hadn't. But, if Nikolas had asked her to, she would have because she generally did what was expected. It was part of her good girl persona, as stifling as it often was.
XXXXXXX
In the lobby in between what was about to become the Stone Cates Memorial AIDS Wing and the auditorium, Gina Cates Williams lingered in front of the HIV Names Project Quilt. Her eyes misted a little when she found the panel the Scorpio Family had commissioned for her brother. She trembled slightly as she reached out with a single finger to touch the panel. She still remembered the day she had learned her brother had AIDS.
July 15, 1995
"Mr. Corinthos," Gina heard her mother say as she was about to start down the front stairs. Instinctively she moved out of view and sat down on the floor of the upstairs hall.
"May I come in?" Sonny asked.
"Yes, of course," Melody Williams said in her usual polite tone.
Gina smiled slightly. Her mother was incapable of being rude to anyone, and Sonny Corinthos was definitely using that to his advantage. He probably didn't realize that though because she doubted that her brother had that opinion. Although she supposed she couldn't really say that her mother had ever been rude to Michael, it was more just that she was wary and then he got ticked off and stormed away.
"I'm not here to tell you how to raise your daughter Ma'am," Sonny said.
"Well that is good, Mr. Corinthos. If I may ask, is there a specific matter that brings you here?"
"I wanted to talk to you about Stone."
"Stone?" Melody asked.
"Right, I guess you probably call him Michael. Well, we call him Stone, but anyway, Gina's brother."
"Alright, did something happen?"
Gina tensed at her mother's question. For a smart girl, she could be such an idiot sometimes, she chastised herself. Why hadn't she realized that before? The only reason Sonny Corinthos would be at their house was if something had happened to her brother. She wanted to scream or cry or something, but the words wouldn't come, so she sat in stunned silence praying her brother wasn't dead and waiting for Sonny to speak.
"Stone is sick, Mrs. Williams."
Gina relaxed slightly, sick could be temporary. He could always get better. Many people did every day.
"I'm sorry to hear that. We will certainly pray for his returned health. Gina was taking a shower after soccer practice, but I'll tell her when she gets out of the shower," Melody said.
Gina could tell from the way her mother's voice got slightly softer that she had probably started back towards the front door to show Mr. Corinthos ever so politely out of their home. But she didn't want him to go. Without really thinking she jumped up from the floor and went tearing down the front stairs. "What's wrong with my brother?"
"Honey, now don't get upset. I am sure your brother will be fine, and it was very nice of Mr. Corinthos to stop over and tell us, wasn't it?"
"I want to talk to Mr. Corinthos alone," Gina said.
"I don't think that is a good idea, honey," her mother said.
"Mom, I'll be fine. You can make us some lemonade or something."
Gina saw her mother hesitate, but she did go towards the kitchen.
A smile crossed Sonny Corinthos' face. "So, you do have a little bit of that Cates spunk inside you still," he said.
Gina shrugged her shoulders. "I guess. So, what's wrong with my brother? I heard you say he was sick, but I don't think you would come all the way over here for a cold or something. This is something serious, isn't it?"
"Yes, maybe you should sit down," Sonny said.
Gina collapsed onto the couch. "Ok now tell me."
"Stone says you're really good with science," Sonny said.
"I guess, I took AP Biology and I think I might want to be a doctor like my other brother's wife."
"Karen is really a great person, isn't she?"
"Yeah, she is, so about my brother?"
"Did you talk about HIV in your biology class?"
"Some, if it wasn't responsible for AIDS, which is killing people in clumps, it would be a kind of cool virus. The way it's able to just sort of insert itself and use the body to make billions of copies and spread all over is kind of ingenious," Gina said. But once the words were out of her mouth, she realized that Sonny Corinthos probably wasn't looking for a biology lesson, he was just trying to figure out how to tell her something.
Gina shook her head. "No! That's not what is wrong with Michael. Is it?"
Sonny didn't answer her at first, but the look in his eyes gave her the answer he couldn't.
"Ok, well that could be ok because it usually takes years and years before people get sick and they're looking for a cure so maybe they will find it before he really gets sick," Gina said.
"Your brother has AIDS, Gina."
"Are you sure?"
Sonny nodded.
"I want to see him."
"That's why I came to talk to your parents," Sonny said.
She also remembered visiting Stone in the hospital and walking into the room and finding him seizing. She remembered screaming for help. Dr. Quartermaine gave an order for Ativan and eventually the seizure had stopped. Stone had been rushed down for an emergency Head CT and Dr. Quartermaine had bought her lunch in the hospital cafeteria.
"I thought that was one of my favorite current medical students," a familiar voice said, and Gina turned a little more, so she was squarely facing Dr. Alan Quartermaine.
"Hello Dr. Quartermaine," Gina said. She tried not to focus on the awkward irony that Robin Scorpio was likely his other favorite current medical student.
"How is school going, Gina. We're glad you could join us for the dedication and opening of your brother's wing," Dr. Quartermaine said.
"It is definitely challenging but I think I am doing well. I got honors in histology," Gina said.
"My wife got honors in Histology, actually I think she may have gotten honors in all of her first-year courses. I didn't really hit my stride until we hit anatomy," Dr. Quartermaine said.
"Was that when you realized you wanted to do surgery?" Gina asked.
"Not exactly, I think some of my professors started to steer me in that direction because of my strong marks in anatomy and pathology but it really wasn't until we got into the OR that I realized how much I wanted more. This was all pre-Bell Commission, so I guess that was convenient," Dr. Quartermaine said.
"I'm keeping an open mind, but I think I want to do Pediatrics," Gina said.
"Another wonderful field, I think both Dr. London and Dr. Hardy have taken student interns in the past. If you might be interested in that, for next summer, the applications are usually due sometime in January. Also, there are a lot of opportunities for pediatric practice within the subspecialties and you may want to explore them as well. About half of my practice is pediatric surgery. We do not have a pediatric fellowship at PCGH, but I trained at CHOP and one of my residents will be heading up to Sick Children's in Toronto to start her fellowship there this summer."
"I've been surprised by how much I like the Head and Neck section of Anatomy so maybe I will do ENT and that has a lot of pediatrics even just in the general field."
"That is true," Dr. Quartermaine agreed. "On that note, I need to make sure my slides got set up properly before my lecture tonight. It really was great to see you and, please, if there is anything Monica or I can do to support you in your medical journey do not hesitate to reach out," he added.
"Thank you, Dr. Quartermaine, good luck with your lecture," Gina said just as the elevator doors opened and she saw her sister in law step off the elevator with her father, Scott Baldwin, and some woman Gina didn't recognize.
XXXXXXXX
After Karen had excused herself to go speak to some petite blonde girl who was apparently her sister in law, Dr. Evelyn Lambert tried to remind herself that showing up with Scott Baldwin didn't really mean she was his escort. Anyway, apparently the Quartermaine Family had donated enough money to the Hospital Foundation to cover tickets for all of the PCGH Housestaff. So, she certainly could be attending in that respect and just using Scott as a form of transportation. Not that, that had worked particularly well on the first day of her surgery rotation though.
August 18, 1997
Dr. Evelyn Lambert could only shake her head as the alarm on her watch sounded. The new interns had been instructed to meet the rest of the surgery team on 4North to start rounds so she had set a five minute warning alarm to ensure she was there and waiting at least a few minutes before the agreed upon time. That was only professional; plus, since Dr. Chris Ramsey was the other intern on the surgery service with her, she presumed he would be there at least ten minutes early, if not fifteen.
Unfortunately, instead of reading up on patients on one of the Med-Surg units of the North Wing, Eve was stranded alongside Tower Road while waiting for the AAA tow truck or Slick's Taxi, whichever came first. She had made Scott call both, but she held little hope that she wasn't going to be hopelessly late for the first day of what could be the most critical rotation yet.
"I really am sorry. I guess we're learning the hard way what FORD stands for," Scott said before he shoved his hands into his pocket.
Eve just shook her head again.
"Fix or Repair Daily," Scott said.
"What?" Eve asked.
"That is what FORD stands for. Or at least that is what my buddy Ron Harding says," Scott said.
"Let me guess, he owns the Chevrolet Dealership?" Eve asked.
"Well, yes, but seriously my Blazer has never let me down before. So much for a commuter car? I'll be going back to my Blazer thank you."
Eve involuntarily rolled her eyes. Why couldn't have Scott come to that great realization before she made the mistake of depending on him to get her to the hospital on time?
XXXXXXXX
"Just drop it off at the service center at Stollings Ford. Tell them I don't want it back!" Scott Baldwin instructed the towtruck driver once they had pulled into the front entrance of Port Charles General Hospital.
Eve bolted from the vehicle once it had come to a complete stop and sprinted across the drop off apron. With a sense of dread, she glanced at her watch as she entered the hospital. Seven-fifteen, she was so late!
It was only when she paused to wait for the North Elevator and debate if taking the stairs would be faster that she realized Scott had joined her. "Umm, are you following me?"
"I told you I would explain to Alan that it was really all my fault. Ok really, it's the yoohoo at Stollings Ford who sold me a defective vehicle but Eddie and George probably still golf together at the Country Club so Alan may just not want to hear that. Or maybe he will, now that I think of it, Mr. Stollings has never financially supported PCGH even though his coronary arteries are held together with more than a few of my sister's carefully deployed stents," Scott ranted as the doors to the elevator finally opened.
Eve quickly stepped inside and pushed the button for four. Unfortunately, Scott followed her before the doors closed. Clearly, she should have never lamented if her life could be worse.
"For the record, anything I know about Mr. Stollings' cardiac conditions is from his own mouth. I want to make it clear that Monica has always protected confidential patient information," Scott added.
Eve released a deep breath. "Duly noted," she said.
The elevator doors opened too soon. There immediately in front of the elevator stood Dr. Alan Quartermaine, Chris, and a few other surgery residents. Eve did the best she could to step out discretely. Unfortunately, that wasn't really possible.
"Good morning!" Dr. Alan Quartermaine said brightly.
"Good morning. I am sorry I am late, car trouble, it won't happen again," Eve said as averted her eyes away from the smug smirk on Chris's face.
"Yes, Alan, if you want to be upset with someone, be upset with me. After all, it was my car that broke down," Scott said.
"I understand, unexpected crises do happen. On that note, let's head up to 5 North," Dr. Quartermaine said.
As she filed in with the rest of the group Eve wondered if it was really that simple. She doubted it was.
In retrospect perhaps being late on the first day hadn't been as egregious as she had feared at the time. Her rotation evaluation had been very favorable, and Dr. Quartermaine had at least insinuated that she could become a fine surgeon. That was a bit ironic since she was almost certain she no longer wanted to become a surgeon. If she was anywhere but PCGH or maybe really just if Dr. Devlin hadn't been at PCGH she thought she would be interested in Cardiology, but she was and he was, so she wasn't sure exactly where that left her.
Eve forced a smile when she saw her former attending Dr. Brian Phillips approaching with a petite Black whom she presumed was his wife. She looked like the same woman he had been dining in Kelly's with a week earlier when she and Scott had ended up getting hot cocoa and brownies to go.
"Good evening, Dr. Lambert, it is great to see you and some of your colleagues here tonight. I don't think you have met my wife yet. This is my wife, Claudia Johnson Phillips. Honey this is Dr. Evelyn Lambert, she was my intern last rotation block. I'm trying to sway her into the field of Internal Medicine and perhaps even to join me at Riverfront Clinic in a few more years," Dr. Phillips said.
Claudia Johnson Phillips extended her hand to Eve. "It is very nice to meet you. Brian did mention he had a stellar intern last block. If you were to remain in Port Charles after your residency, I am sure that would be great for the community. I work with the Chamber of Commerce so let me know if there is any way I can help you with that decision," she said.
Eve decided not to point out that she was very familiar with the area served by Dr. Phillips's clinic because she had essentially grown up in poverty on the banks of the Charles River. "Thank you, I appreciate that. Port Charles certainly has it's own charm."
"Indeed! I grew up on Elm Street, so I've seen some of the best and worst parts of the city. I've seen businesses come and go," Claudia said.
"I can think of a few businesses I would like to see go," Scott interjected.
Claudia laughed. "If this is about the Croydon Hotel, while the Chamber of Commerce officially supports all business, personally we were not opposed to demolition of the structure. Apparently, Mr. Dane negotiated an extension with the city which gives him another six months to correct his multiple code violations. Although after last week's shooting, I know there was discussion of having the property declared a public nuisance," she said.
"Unfortunately, that seems unlikely given the current City Council. I'll still put my money where my mouth is if you ever get ready to run. All you will owe me in return is to vote your conscience oh, and maybe throw in a few of those apple fritters!"
Claudia laughed. "Well, now that we moved into Mom's old house, we are living in Ward 1. I have always said I would only run in Ward 1 so I guess we will see," she said.
XXXXXXXX
Michael Corinthos Jr. felt out of place when he stepped off the North Elevator into what might as well have been a snake pit and what actually seemed to be a cocktail party from Hades. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that the evening was not about him; it was for Stone.
Warm brown eyes met his but then quickly looked away and reached the hand of the man he presumed was her date. He was a bit surprised to see who she was with but somehow it almost fit. Or perhaps he was just happy to see her with anyone but CandyBoy. Not that he supposed he really deserved much of an opinion on anything she did. He had let go of having any input into her choices and dreams the day he called their wedding off hours before their rehearsal.
August 22, 1997
Michael Corinthos Jr. shuddered when Max drove through the gates that led to the Quartermaine Estate. He wasn't sure whether it was more surprising that he had agreed to marry Brenda in the Quartermaine Rose Garden or that the Quartermaines were even allowing it. Of course, after the conversation he was about to have, he supposed neither aspect would really matter. Not really…
He had spent most of the night trying to find a way that he could marry Brenda and also keep her safe. Eventually he had accepted that he couldn't, especially not when Hernando Rivera was still alive.
Max pulled up in front of the mansion and shifted into park. "Should I just wait here, Boss?" he asked.
"Sure, thanks, I won't be long," Sonny said as he got out of the limo with a heavy sigh. He bypassed the Quartermaine mansion and navigated across the front lawn to the entry arbor into the rose garden. For just a moment he stood silently and watched Brenda. She looked so happy and he was about to dash all of that. He squeezed his face in contemplation as he futilely sought any other solution. And, once again, no reasonable solution came.
XXXXXXXX
Brenda reached for his hand as they walked through the rose garden away from Lila and the gardening service contractors. Reluctantly Sonny let her take it.
"What is it?" Brenda asked anxiously. Sometimes she knew him too well.
"I love you! I will probably always love you, but we can't do this. I can't let you risk your life to become Mrs. Michael Corinthos," Sonny said.
"Isn't that supposed to be my choice?" Brenda asked.
Brenda's voice sounded far too light. It was as if she really didn't understand the seriousness of his concern and in that moment, Sonny realized she didn't and probably never would. So he did the only thing he could. He pulled her close to him and kissed her passionately. Then, as much as he wanted to hang on, he broke off the kiss and turned jogging away down the path.
"Uncle Sonny!" Brooklyn squealed as he came back onto the front lawn.
Sonny scooped up his Goddaughter and then met her mother's eyes.
Lois must have sensed what she had just walked into because she wrapped her arms around him. Then she whispered, "You have to do what you think is right, I'll take care of Brenda."
Sonny nodded. He set Brooklyn down gently and then he got into his waiting limo.
He had left Port Charles that day. He had tracked Hernando Rivera to Puerto Rico where he found him dead in what was believed to be an old Sorel Family Safe House outside of San Juan. Although Sonny couldn't prove it, his death appeared to be the handiwork of Hector Raines. He would settle for proving that Dr. Pierce Dorman's death had been the work of Hector Raines, or maybe just for providing Justus Ward the ammunition to show that Kaylee Reynolds had nothing to do with it.
XXXXXXXX
Port Charles General Hospital CEO, Stefan Cassadine had never known Michael Cates. The nineteen-year-old had died from AIDS roughly seven months before the Cassadine Family arrived in Port Charles; although even if he had still been still alive Stefan doubted that they would have met. He avoided much intermixing with the peasants, particularly the rogue peasants which he was sure Sonny Corinthos's surrogate little brother must have been. Of course, he couldn't admit any of that aloud, so he had arranged for Port Charles General Hospital Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Alan Quartermaine, to deliver the opening remarks. Unfortunately, Dr. Quartermaine was still setting up for his lecture. Apparently, some of the Stone Cates Memorial Endowment was required to be spent on Medical Education so after the initial hors d oeuvres, introductions, and ribbon cutting, Dr. Quartermaine was delivering a lecture on some HIV treatment regimen called heart, or something like that.
Across the room, Stefan's seventeen-year-old nephew, Prince Nikolas Cassadine seemed to smile at something Emily Quartermaine had said. Normally Stefan would discourage the interaction; but Emily was much more tolerable than Sarah Webber. Then there was also the issue that Emily and her older sister, Allison, were both far more suitable for Nikolas to spend time with than Katherine Bell.
"Nikolas seems to be enjoying himself," Alexis said when she joined him with a glass of seltzer.
"Nikolas is the Cassadine Heir," Stefan said dryly.
Alexis raised and then rolled her eyes with a slight shake of her head.
Stefan did not appreciate the insolence. "It is past time that we got this evening over with; could you please go fetch Dr. Quartermaine from the auditorium!" he instructed.